As Arizona weighs whether to implement new policies for workplace heat safety, a new study finds California’s workplace heat safety standard is saving lives.
The study out this month in the journal Health Affairs says California’s policy, first implemented in 2005, has resulted in a 33% decrease in deaths among outdoor workers compared to the number of deaths the state would have expected to see without the policy. That equates to about 34 lives saved per year, said George Washington University associate professor of political science Adam Dean, one of the study’s authors.
“We looked at deaths related to outdoor work in California over time and compared those trends to the same kind of deaths in the neighboring states of Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon,” Dean said. “We see that before 2005, these kinds of deaths in California and the surrounding states followed very similar patterns.”
But in the years since, those patterns shifted and worker deaths in the neighboring states increased faster than deaths in California.
“That gives us confidence that, if not for this policy, deaths in California would have continued to follow the same trajectory as the other states,” Dean said.
The researchers took temperature into account and considered not only deaths from heat stroke, but also deaths from vehicle accidents, which Dean said tend to increase on farms and construction sites in high heat due to exhaustion or impaired judgment.
While California established its heat safety standard in 2005, Dean said the significant differences between deaths in California and other states did not begin until around 2010 when California stepped up enforcement of its rules.
“I think that the necessary protections are simple — water, shade and rest breaks — these aren’t complicated or expensive. But we also need to make sure that employers comply with new standards,” Dean said.
The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health has never had a statewide heat safety standard. The study comes as Arizona is considering workplace heat policies. Gov. Katie Hobbs in May convened a task force to put together recommendations for the state for potential new workplace heat safety guidelines. Those recommendations are due at the end of this month.
Some labor rights groups have expressed concerns that whatever the task force recommends in Arizona may not include clear enforcement measures.
Dean said he hopes his research helps inform policymakers in Arizona and other states as they consider this type of regulation.
“Heat standards can significantly reduce worker deaths if they’re well-crafted and well-enforced,” Dean said.
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